The invention relates to a hinge device for a motor vehicle door.
Traditionally, doors of motor vehicles are provided with a hinge device having an approximately vertical axis. Thus, the doors are pivoted around said axis from the closed position to swing outwards.
For sportive vehicles, there are also gull-wing doors available, wherein in the vicinity of the upper edge of the door, there is a horizontal axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle to swing the doors outwards in a gull-wing type around said axis.
Likewise well-known are doors that are pivoted around a horizontal axis extending transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
Furthermore, there are hinge devices available, in particular intended for retrofitting or modification, which allow that a per se normal vehicle door is pivoted from its closed position initially around an approximately vertical axis to an extent that the door is no longer located within the doorway. Then subsequently, the door is pivoted to swing upwards around a horizontal axis extending transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
A hinge device of such a type (US 2003/0213102 A1) has two fitting components, whereof one is fixed to the bodywork and the other to the door of the vehicle. The two fitting components are connected to an articulated joint to allow movements around two axes.
Likewise well-known is a hinge device for a motor vehicle door, wherein two fitting components are hinged to one another by means of a plurality of articulated joints, wherein one joint is disengaged after swinging out of the door such that it is no longer operative (DE 10 2004 024 842 C5).
Another door fitting is similarly designed to include a plurality of articulated joints, wherein to swing the door upwards one joint is decoupled (DE 10 2007 012 265 A1).
In these cases the hinge device has two articulated joints with different axes of articulation.